Case Files Chapter 118: Still Waters and Bitter Cold (11)

Translated by Vivian of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

Wen JinHan loudly chewed a piece of toast as he watched the Duke carefully cut his bacon, silently badmouthing his hypocrisy.

“Your table manners need to be improved.” The Duke suddenly looked at him.

“…Thanks for the advice, but I wasn’t lucky enough to be born into a noble family. If I’m tainting you too much, I’ll apply to eat somewhere else in the future——out of sight, out of mind.” After saying this, Wen JinHan fiercely tore off a piece of bread and stuffed it in his mouth.

“People need to face their shortcomings instead of avoiding them like a coward. I’ll instruct you in the future.” The Duke’s expression was condescending.

If I spilled this bowl of oatmeal on him, would he drop his fake manners and pick another fight with me? Wen JinHan couldn’t help but imagine different situations.

“After you’re done eating, pack your things. We’ll set off soon,” the Duke suddenly said.

Wen JinHan was taken aback and subconsciously asked, “Where are we going?”

The Duke glanced at him impassively, and wiped his mouth with a napkin before leaving without saying anything.

…

Wen JinHan cursed inwardly, nearly flipping over the table. 

Actually, he didn’t have much to pack. Wen JinHan changed into semi-casual clothes that were appropriate for a wide range of activities. Who knew where that damned Duke would want to go?!

When they got into a private jet, Wen JinHan realized that this might not be a normal activity.

However, he decided not to ask where they were going, as he would find out soon enough anyway. Moreover, no matter how bad things were, they still wouldn’t be as bad as the previous days. Thus, he simply curled up in his seat and listened to music before falling asleep. Around halfway into the flight, the Duke stared at him for a good five minutes, though Wen JinHan was still asleep and didn’t notice. Could this be considered lucky or unlucky?

“Is this Burma?”

Canterbury stiffened and turned to see that Wen JinHan had already woken up and was staring out the window. He had been awoken by some slight jolts of the plane, and when he realized that the plane was already descending, he had immediately looked outside to see that there was a large jungle underneath them. Based on his memory, he recognized this place as a location in Burma, close to Thailand.

“How do you know this is Burma?” The Duke frowned slightly.

Wen JinHan glanced at him arrogantly, straightened his clothes, and leaned back, not saying a word.

The Duke was speechless.

They landed at a small airport, and when the plane’s door opened, there were already two cards waiting close by. A few locals were standing there respectfully.

At first glance, Wen JinHan could tell that those people were of the shady kind. This area was either involved in drugs or smuggling, and since Canterbury didn’t associate with drugs, he reckoned that this was probably a smuggling ring for arms.

The car made a lot of twists and turns before driving into a place that looked like a resort deep in the jungle. He reckoned that this was their den, though it was quite luxurious. Wen JinHan grinned to himself; he reckoned that if it had been a cave or something, the spoiled Duke wouldn’t have been willing to come.

A young, dark-skinned man and a group of people behind him walked out of the villa in the center. They were talking and laughing, and when they approached the Duke, they held out their hands. The Duke seemed to hesitate, but he reluctantly shook hands with them using the tip of his fingers. The people didn’t seem to mind at all, and they continued to smile as they invited them in.

For the first time, facing these criminals, Wen JinHan was no longer the protagonist; he only needed to silently follow and observe. This piqued his interest, and he casually followed the Duke inside, looking around curiously.

Through a translator and a whispered explanation, Wen JinHan discovered that the man was a famous Burmese arms dealer whose name was Kengtung Lijiang. Burmese people only had a first name and no surname, and there would be an honorific or name of a place in front of their name. Kengtung was the name of the place where Lijiang was born. He had always been proud of his hometown, which is why he named himself after it. Lijiang wasn’t cruel, but he only cared about profit and pleasure, which was why he was so hard to trust. He would go back on his word anytime if it meant more profit, and a lot of people had suffered losses because of him. However, since he was the largest arms dealer in Burma, everyone still needed his support, which was why his business did so well.

When they arrived at an extremely luxurious restaurant, everyone sat down. Wen JinHan stole a glance at the Duke and saw that he wasn’t very satisfied with this environment; he probably disdained the extravagant use of gold and gemstones in the decorations. Seeing him so unhappy made Wen JinHan feel happy, and he felt a lot more positive about Lijiang and the others.

Lijiang had definitely gained a lot of profit from the Duke, which was why he was so welcoming and generous. The dishes were all very exquisite, and to cater to the Duke, they were basically Western foods. As Wen JinHan drank the soup, he couldn’t help but wonder exactly how much Lijiang had paid to find such a good chef.

“This is seafood from the deep sea near Alaska, and it’s very fresh. It was specially prepared for you,” Lijiang introduced through the translator.

As Lijiang talked, his gaze drifted to Wen JinHan, who was sitting next to the Duke and eating quietly, and a hint of appreciation flashed in his eyes.

“Duke, that beauty of yours is very enviable.” Lijiang grinned at the Duke.

The Duke raised an eyebrow and turned to see Wen JinHan impassively struggling with the lobster in his plate. He suddenly lifted his hand and caressed the side of Wen JinHan’s slender neck. Wen JinHan was caught off guard, and he turned to glare at him. “What’s wrong with you?!”

Although Lijiang couldn’t understand what he was saying, judging from his expression, he understood that it wasn’t anything good. He didn’t want the Duke’s mood to be ruined, so he hastily and tactfully changed the topic. “These are specially prepared baby Spanish cuttlefish. Have a taste, I know that you’ve always liked this dish.”

Someone began adding cuttlefish to everyone’s plates. Wen JinHan keenly took a whiff of the sauce; it really was quite superb. The Duke picked up his fork and took a bite. As he chewed, his expression was quite satisfied. Wen JinHan looked down and was about to try it as well, but right before he did, he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be something strange mixed in with the cuttlefish. He took a closer look and couldn’t help but gasp.

“You haven’t seen cuttlefish before? They’re for eating, not looking.” The Duke placed his hand on Wen JinHan’s neck again.

This time, Wen JinHan unexpectedly didn’t resist. Instead, he turned to look at the Duke and then at his plate, an expression of deep sympathy etched on his face.

“…What kind of expression is that?” The Duke felt a little uneasy. 

Suddenly, Wen JinHan shrank into his arms and feigned shock, pointing at his own plate and shouting, “Ah, how scary, there’s something scary mixed in with the cuttlefish.”

The Duke subconsciously glanced at Wen JinHan’s plate, and he froze. Then, his expression slowly darkened.  

A nearby maid nervously took a look as well, scared that a chef had accidentally dropped something in it. She screamed and said in broken English, “My god! Eye! There’s an eye in there!”

Lijiang stood up abruptly and pointed at the table, shouting unintelligibly. Immediately, a group of people replaced all of the dishes. The expressions of the people sitting around the table were dark, especially the Duke’s, who was the only one who had eaten the cuttlefish.

“Duke, it’s my fault, I can’t believe someone would dare to do this. When I catch him, I’ll dig out his eyes and——” Before Lijiang could finish, the Duke suddenly pushed Wen JinHan away and stood up. With an ashen face, he directly left the table, and the bodyguards behind him dragged along the maid, saying, “Quick, take us to the restroom!”

The restaurant was silent, and everyone was worriedly watching as the Duke went to the restroom to——throw up.

“Hahahaha…” Wen JinHan was convulsing with laughter at the table, and his suppressed laughter reverberated around the room.

After the lunch ended in awkwardness, only Wen JinHan was in a good mood. He was sent to a large, exotic bedroom to rest in, and he jumped onto the bed, grabbing a pillow rolling around in amusement.

“Is it very funny to see someone’s organs inside a dish?” The Duke had silently appeared in the bedroom doorway, his expression unreadable.

Wen JinHan sat up and asked alertly, “Why are you here?”

“This is my room,” he replied concisely.

That damned arms dealer put us in the same room?

Wen JinHan shook it off and asked innocently, “Was it fun throwing up just now?”

The Duke didn’t reply, though he wasn’t angry, either. He merely matched his rhythm and walked to the bed, scrutinizing Wen JinHan, who was still hugging the pillow.

Wen JinHan felt a little unsettled from his gaze, and he turned to look away.

His slender neck became a graceful line, and it extended from the tips of his black hair to his collar. The Duke recalled how it had felt when he was caressing it earlier. Dammit, that Ou Cehn had probably also done things to this beautiful neck. A faint anger and stubbornness faintly arose in the Duke’s heart as he thought about how someone else had gotten to it first.

“Ow! Shit! Are you crazy?!” Wen JinHan, who had been pinned down out of nowhere, exclaimed in frustration.

“I won’t punish you for being disrespectful today.” The Duke pulled him into his arms and used his lips to trace a line from Wen JinHan’s neck to his collarbone.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Wen JinHan struggled to get out of his grasp, but he didn’t dare to lash out too hard, lest he would provoke him too far.

After a while of struggling, Wen JinHan suddenly stopped, because something was pressing against his thigh, and even a fool would know what it was. Wen JinHan swallowed and said with difficulty, “Earl, don’t you have to go to the restroom to take care of a problem?”

“I’m the Duke.”

“At a time like this, don’t fuss about something as trivial as titles. You must value your dignity as a human being.”

“I value it a lot.” 

“…I think that it’s not very good to communicate so openly like this.”

“Actually, I can be very veiled.” The Duke pinched his backside.

“…I think that people should use language to communicate, not their bodies.”

When the Duke saw Wen JinHan lying in his arms with messy clothes, a flushed face, and with  light bite marks on his collarbone, yet with such a solemn expression, he couldn’t help but feel amused and wanted to keep teasing him.

Bang!

They both froze.

“That was a gun,” said Wen JinHan.

The Duke sat up and pulled him up as well.

“It looks like this Mr. Jiang felt that today’s lunch wasn’t enough, so he wants to give you an extra meal?” gloated Wen JinHan.

“He wouldn’t dare.”

A gunshot sounded outside again, but it didn’t sound random.

“Is someone doing target practice?” Wen JinHan made to look out the window, but the Duke pulled him back.

“Let’s just go outside and see.” The Duke put an arm around his waist.

“I don’t like this position.”

“Either I carry you or this, you choose one.”

 

“…Although I don’t like it, this will have to do. I’ve never been one to care about the details.”